University school of Physical Education, Wrocław, Poland
ABsTRAcT
Purpose. The aim of this study was to define the relationship between gender identity, the perception of the body, depressive- ness, and aggression in female football players who represent different levels of competence (playing in the premier league vs. second league) and seniority in sport. Methods. Research was carried out on female football players (aged 16–31 years) playing in the premier league (N = 49) and second league (N = 45). Data were obtained with the use of: the Body Image Evaluation Questionnaire by Mandal, developed on the basis of Franzoi’s concepts; Kuczyńska’s Gender Assessment Inventory (IPP) adapted from the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BsRI), which diversifies individuals in terms of their gender identity in accordance to the Gender schema Theory by Bem; the Beck Depression Inventory, translated by Lewicka and czapiński; and the Buss-
Durkee Inventory, adapted by Kosewski with comments from stanik. To find a relationship between the mentioned variables, statistical analysis was carried out by use of ANOVA, the t test, the ² test and correlation coefficients. Results. The obtained research results indicate that, among female football players, the following occurs: a predominance of androgynous gender identities and a deficiency of its other types, a higher level of masculinity than among non-training women, a more favorable perception of body-as-process, a higher evaluation of body-as-object, along with an increase of masculinity and a decrease in indirect aggression at higher competition levels. Conclusions. The application of the masculinity dimension by female football players with androgynous gender identity is probably an effective strategy for survival in conditions that are unsuitable and gender-inappropriate in typical masculine sports.
Key words: gender schema, psychological sex, football
doi: 10.2478/v10038-012-0003-8 2012, vol. 13 (1), 40– 47
Introduction
Gender identity with sex and gender itself are all ele- ments constituting human sexuality. Each of the above mentioned notions are connected with a description of sex from a psychological, biological and social per- spective [1]. The psychological phenomenon of gender identity has been aptly explained in the Gender schema Theory by sandra L. Bem. According to this theory, cul- ture provides an individual with obligatory definitions of femininity and masculinity creating a so-called gender schema.
The gender schema is a general, mental representa- tion of a part of knowledge about the reality responsible for classifying human experiences as feminine vs. mas- culine. An internalization of the content of gender sche- mata in the process of sex typing triggers our special knowledge on sex to be used not only with the aim of orientation in the world, but also in the purpose of building on its basis a concept of one’s self as well as controlling one’s behavior. Bem distinguished six possi- ble gender identities mirroring the unique inclinations represented by an individual to use the dimensions of masculinity and femininity. The first four types of per- sonalities use the gender schema for the purposes of constructing an identity and regulating one’s behavior. They are sex typed (feminine women and masculine men – femininity predominates over masculinity in
women and masculinity predominates over femininity in men) and cross sex typed (masculine women and feminine men – a predominance of femininity over masculinity in men and masculinity over femininity in women, respectively). The other types of gender identity fall “outside” the standard gender schema dichotomiz- ing the world into the feminine or masculine, tran- scending it in relation to androgynous individuals (where women and men simultaneously representing a high intensity of femininity and masculinity use both dimen- sions for the purpose of processing information) and those undifferentiated in terms of gender (women and men displaying the same low intensity level of femininity and masculinity) by almost ignoring gender schemata and not organizing such a cognition process around them [2, 3].
As such, culture allows people to use gender sche- mata with various levels of intensity in evaluating the environment and themselves, which diversifies them in terms of psychological sex. Men sustain the stereo- typical division of masculine and feminine sports as a status quo necessary in order to obtain gender identity [4]. The hegemony of men in sport is the reason for the “rules of war” that are so frequently present in it. Therefore, women are required to adjust to conditions that are often at variance with their system of values [5]. Women participating in a traditionally masculine sport frequently have androgynous or masculine gender
identities [6, 7], and as Matteo argues [8], they tend to practice masculinized sports far more often (baseball, basketball, boxing, football). Mroczkowska [9] obtained slightly different results in competitors who trained a sport appropriate (i.e., neutral) to both genders (fenc- ing) indicating the prevalence of androgynous (44.4%) and feminine (27.8%) over masculine and undifferen- tiated gender identity, while women who trained in dis- ciplines that are inadequate in terms of their gender (“masculine” weight lifting), androgynous (53%) and masculine (23%) gender identity predominated.
For three years, Guillet et al. [10] observed the with- drawal of young (aged 13–15 years) women handball players from active sport. The highest percentage of female players that remained in sports belonged to the following types of gender identity: androgynous (76%), masculine (69%) and a lower percentage of those re- ferred to feminine (56%) and undifferentiated (50%) identity. It is worth noting that participation in a femi- nine sport may depend on early behaviors, such as a girl’s preference of “masculine” rather than “feminine” toys (guns vs. Barbie dolls) and games (football vs. jump rope), enhanced through the clear encouragement by their family, peers and coaches [11]. It seems quite possible that women who represented increased “masculinity” as girls were considered as so-called “tomboys”, who were more glad to participate in more masculine activi- ties than in feminine ones. Bailey et al. [12] reported that girls (aged 4–9 years) from a tomboy group were generally more masculine (playing, interests, gender) than their sisters, but not more than their brothers. It appears that retaining the childhood inclinations of girls may predispose them towards a certain sport in the future and account for them taking up activities in areas that belong to “masculine” culture.
One of the masculinized reservoirs of sport is foot- ball, and it was only not that long ago that women were allowed to enter this exclusive environment. Al- though football is becoming an increasingly popular discipline among women, there are a number of nega- tive opinions on this form of emancipation. This is evidenced by recent results of a Polish study on the fac- torial structure of male and female professional stereo- types, which indicate that being a footballer is a job reserved exclusively for men [13]. According to sta- rosta [14], based on a sampling of students’ opinions, the sports that have adverse influence on a woman’s body (identified as being concerned on the aesthetics of a woman’s body or about achieving motherhood) are: bodybuilding, weight lifting and football (ranked in this order). This is why it seems vital to determine the identity of women who undertake to break the limits outlined by the stereotypes of sex and sexist bias, and above all, to answer the question: “What are the costs of doing so?”
In tests performed on female football players (N = 31), Pacut [15] obtained a prevalence of androgynous (65%)
and masculine (16%) gender identities. chalabaev et al. indirectly explained the reason for such a distribution of gender identities based on an example of young fe- male football players (M age = 13.5 years), showing that masculinity ensures a positive perceived ability in soccer [16]. In research done by szmajke and Adam- czuk [17], all of the tested female football players (N = 17) displayed typically masculine gender identity, a high aggression factor and low self-esteem, through which the authors then formulated a presumption that wom- en playing football are socially “rejected” and that is what induces them to fulfill themselves within the en- clave of women’s football. On the other hand, the re- sults obtained by Mroczkowska [9] indicate that this could be instead an adaptation to a typically masculine sport by means of an androgynous gender identity. However, the research in question did not take into consideration the specific nature of the sports discipline (it was not performed on women football players).
Thus it seems necessary to broaden the presented subject of research with a view towards focusing on the seniority of woman football players, the represented level of sport participation, their aggressiveness, which by simplification is the essence of the stereotype of mas- culinity (in being predominating, competing, success- oriented, pushing oneself forward, combative, brusque, or arrogant) and depressiveness, which, also being fur- ther simplified, appears to be connected with the ste- reotype of femininity, where sensitivity, mildness, re- flectiveness, thoughtfulness, gentleness, and bashfulness are emphasized [18]. In some cases football is ranked among the more brutal team disciplines [19], with it being a sports environment where regulations or a referee’s decisions are at times considered to be unjust and there- fore hinder one’s success in sport. such decisions could be therefore perceived as consenting to a “justified” use of violence [20]. However, contrary to these findings, empirical research does not confirm a higher level of aggression in female football players than in women who do not practice any sport whatsoever [21], and it even points to a smaller amount of antisocial behavior on the field than in players [22]. This is despite the fact that the environment of football appears to create pos- sibilities for higher social elevation and a substantial improvement in the quality of life [23], and the use of aggression might be seen as a good means at achieving them. “Pumping up” and promoting an attitude of opti- mal outward aggression among athletes gives them the physiological mobilization of enabling them to be more fully involved in competition [24], rather than a more destructive attitude of outright hostility, irritation and anger, which, when accompanied with sports aggres- sion, makes it rather ineffective and useless [25].
Depression, as a mental illness, also plays a role in regard to sex stereotypes; in women it pertains to prob- lems connected with the fulfillment of a social role (portraying the classic symptoms: low mood, an inabil-
W. Wiliński, Gender identity in female football players
ity to feel pleasure, anxiety). Whereas in men it per- tains to the denial and threat to one’s “masculinity” (e.g., a decreased feeling in control over one’s life, the inability to work, which is sometimes concealed in self-destructive behaviors such as with the use of certain stimulants or gambling, but still attempting at salvaging one’s masculinity), of who appears to fulfill the stereo- type of the “strong man” that dominates in our cul- ture [26]. Therefore, it seems worthwhile to determine the situation of female football players, whose model of experiencing this disorder may be closer to the mas- culine one and thus imperceptible in their own con- sciousness. In addition, previous research also points to the fact that women practicing sports and sustain- ing an injury may be more susceptible to depression than male athletes [27]. A counterpart to the charac- teristics of female football players’ gender identity is one of their body image, as it is a personality compo- nent that undergoes unceasing social evaluation in terms of sex stereotypes and one not taken into con- sideration in any of the tools designed to measure psy- chological gender. According to Franzoi’s theory, we can approach our body in two ways: by understanding the body as a collection of static elements evaluated sepa- rately (face, hands, feet) or the body as a functional whole (attractiveness, endurance, strength). Perception, in terms of body-as-object and body-as-process, is con- nected with sex stereotypes. Both genders assess their bodies in a more positive manner through the body- as-process approach rather than the body-as-object, and a high level of femininity induces a negative eval- uation of the body as an object in women and positive evaluation in men, whereas a high level of masculinity induces a positive evaluation of body-as-object in women. The satisfaction received from perceiving one’s body-as-process is interlinked with masculinity [28, 29]. This relationship consists of the fact that the more a woman is feminine the less favorably her body is eval- uated by her as an object, while far more positively is such an evaluation received when a subject represents a high level of masculinity, which indicates that auto- identification with a masculine gender stereotype, when a masculine discipline is practiced, appears to be a fa- vorable adaptational phenomenon. On the other hand, the specific character of typical masculine sport disci- plines itself (football, boxing) induces the use of a mas- culine dimension connected with the functional eva- lu ation of the body as a whole (body-as-process) that scores or loses goals or gives or receives blows in objec- tive terms. Typical feminine sport disciplines (synchro- nized swimming, skating) give priority to femininity, which pertains to treating the body as an object un- dergoing on-going aesthetization and immeasurable evaluation, thus contributing to low self-esteem in women [30].
In such a context, women football players may un- dergo adaptive changes in their gender identity, in how
they perceive their bodies or experience depressiveness and, as such, come to resemble men in terms of aggres- sive behavior that follow in the footsteps of having certain male characteristics. The analysis found above revolves around the dilemma of: “Does sport change the identity of a female player?” vs. “Does sport attract individuals having a special identity?”
In order to solve this problem, this study focused on determining the level of gender, the perception of one’s body, depressiveness, the aggression of female football players across different skill levels as well as seniority, and a search for a relationship between these aspects. In order to operationalize the issue set forth in this pa- per, the following research questions were formulated: Does the intensity level of femininity and masculin- ity in all subjects differ from each other significantly? Does the intensity level of femininity and mascu- linity in female football players differ significantly from each other depending on the level of competition in which they play in (premier league vs. second league)?
Does the intensity level of femininity and mascu- linity in female football players and non-training women differ from each other significantly?
Is there any relationship between the gender iden- tity variants and type of physical activity of women (women playing football vs. non-training women)?
Is there any relationship between the gender iden- tity variants and level of competition played by female football players (premier league vs. second league)?
Do the following issues correlate with each other: the represented level of competition (women’s premier league vs. second league), the seniority in playing foot- ball as well as the seniority one holds in their current division, masculinity and femininity, depressiveness, general aggression and its elements and perception of one’s body as-process and as-object?
Does the level of general aggression in female foot- ball players significantly differ from the level of gene- ral aggression in non-training women?
Does the intensity level of perception of one’s body as-object and as-process significantly differ from each other in women playing football?
Does the intensity level of perception of one’s body as-object and as-process significantly differ from each other, depending on the represented level of competi- tion in women playing football (premier league vs. second league)?
Material and methods
Research was carried out between January and April 2010 among randomly selected football clubs in Poland, selecting football players who train in the pre- mier league (N = 49) and second league (N = 45) and were aged 16–31 years (mean age 20.77 years). The measurement tools for dependent variables were as follows: the Body Image Evaluation Questionnaire by
Mandal [30], which was developed on the basis of the concept of body image according to Franzoi, that fo- cused on the satisfaction with one’s own body and how it is perceived in a body-as-object (separate parts of the body) and body-as-process manner (body func- tioning); the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BsRI), adapted by Kuczyńska in her Inventory for Psychological Gen- der Evaluation (IPP) [3, 18], diversifying individuals in terms of their gender identity according to the schema Theory by Bem; the Beck Depression Inven- tory, translated by Lewicka in czapiński’s work [31] as the level of depressiveness of an individual (it meas- ures the components of depression seen as one of psycho- pathological dimensions manifesting itself in various disorders and is not used for diagnosing depression as a nosological unit); and the Buss-Durkee Invento- ry [32], which determines: the level of an aggression factor en bloc (understood as an unpleasant stimulus directed at another person), consisting of physical, indirect, verbal aggression and irritation, and the hos- tility factor (which was not analyzed in the present paper, however). The obtained results were then ana- lyzed statistically.
Results
Repeated measures of ANOVA in a 2 × 2 design (level of competition: premier league vs. second league
vs. femininity vs. masculinity) showed that all of the tested subjects obtained statistically significant higher results on the femininity scale (x = 56.84) than on the masculinity scale (x = 54.25); F(1. 92) = 10.32, p < 0.002, (partial) 2 = 0.10 (Fig. 1), and did not indicate any de-
pendence on the level of competition (premier league
vs. second league) : F(1.92) = 0.04, p > 0.84.
The femininity of female football players did not dif- fer in a statistically significant manner from the mean values obtained among non-training women (56.84
vs. 56.60); |t(93)| = 0.36, p > 0.05 (two-sided test).
The masculinity in female football players was sig- nificantly statistically higher than the mean value ob- tained among non-training women (54.25 vs. 46.71); t(93) = 10.21; p < 0.0005 (right-sided test). The figures pertaining to the mean femininity and masculinity in non-training women were taken from a study on fe- male students (N = 327) carried out by Korzeń [33].
statistical analysis conducted using the ² test re- vealed a significant relationship between the type of gender identity and practiced sport (in this case female football players vs. students). Among female football players a clear deficiency of female and undifferentiated gender identities occurred with a simultaneous over- representation of androgynous types. Within the popu- lation of female students the tendency was reversed, namely, the androgynous type was underrepresented, whereas female and undifferentiated gender identities were found to be excessive, where 2(3) = 62.23; p <
0.001 (Tab. 1).
No relationship between the type of gender identity and the level of competition (premier league vs. second league) was found in the group of studied female foot- ball players for 2(3) =1.76; p > 0.62 (Tab. 2).
Along with the increase of masculinity in female football players, a positive perception of body-as-object increases (0.26) while indirect aggression (0.27), verbal aggression (0.30) as well as general aggression also rose (0.28). The increase of depressiveness in female football players was accompanied by a higher level of indirect aggression (0.29), irritation (0.42) and general aggres- sion (0.25). Longer player seniority of a female football